Concern for fish after River Slea dries up

Environment Agency officers have descended on the River Slea due to concerns for wildlife after the water level dropped dramatically.

Laura Ashley-De Boer of Sleaford contacted The Standard on Monday saying: “The River Slea has dried up on Westbanks, I’ve rang the Environment Agency as I saw an eel in distress outside my house.”

The river levels west of the town naturally drop each year over the summer months due to low flow from its source at Rauceby, but normally begin to fill up again over the autumn and winter. Water levels in the town centre are kept artifically high via a pumping system, but there have been further improvements over the last two years in a Lincolnshire Rivers Trust project to try and manage and maintain water levels further upstream.

A spokesperson from the Environment Agency said: “We are aware of low flow levels currently affecting the River Slea. Our staff are working to remedy this issue as quickly as possible.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely. We encourage anyone who sees dead fish or fish in distress to report this to our free incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.”

The river level has since risen again.

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